Wednesday, March 16, 2005

in 1792, King Gustavus III of Sweden was killed by Count Ankarstom as they attended a ball at the Royal Opera. The Count then seized the throne, plunging Sweden into a bloody, 6-year civil war. Most of Scandinavia was drawn into the conflict, which devastated the northern lands of Europe and reduced their influence in world affairs considerably.

in 1861, the Arizona Territory leaves the Union and joins with the Confederate states. This begins an exodus of western territories to the Confederate side, including California. Within the year, the Union is isolated to a handful of northeastern states struggling to hold together in the face of an enemy who surrounds them from all sides but the north.

in 1952, Velma Porter awakens in Heflin, the ruined village that had been the capitol of her lover Mikhail von Heflin’s barony. They had taken refuge in a hidden room in his old mansion after fleeing the mad Doctor Menchekov’s village. She felt her strength returning here, and left her lover asleep to wander about the ruins of his old home. On awaking, he joined her, saying, “Just think, my love, all this is yours, now.”

in 1962, the American plane Constitution disappears while flying over the Pacific Ocean. The 167 people on board are presumed dead until the plane lands the next day in Bombay, India, thousands of miles off-course and unable to account for the time they were missing.

in 1964, Pete Best’s album Your Love Is Mine was released, and immediately started breaking music industry records. It shattered Elvis Presley’s record of concurrent hits on the Top 100, it held all 5 top spots at one point, and it was the best-selling record of its time, among others.

in 1968, a platoon of Marines destroy the small North Chilean village of Chiu Chiu. Led by Comrade Lieutenant Bill Calley, the platoon razed the small settlement, thinking that capitalist guerillos were using it as a base from which to attack soldiers from the Soviet States. As one observer put it later, “After that massacre, every surviving man in that village who wasn’t a capitalist became one.”

in 1996, allied troops push the South Africans out of Namibia and British soldiers raise the Union Jack in Lindetz, a particularly bloody battleground in the small African nation. South Africa now has been pushed back to their original borders, as has their ally, the United States. The writing is on the wall for the two powers, but neither President Terreblanche of South Africa nor President Shephard of America will give up.

in 2004, Livinia Sheridan orders the 7 ships they have with them to do a visual search of the Athena without using their sensors. Since the Titanian methane crabs seem to be invisible to tracking devices, the only way to find them will be to see them. After several long hours without leaving their ships, the Australians report no sighting of the crabs. The Sheridans, under pressure from the Australian government, then destroy the Athena and the Huygens, the spaceship it is carrying.

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